Devices having wireless capability (referred to generically as wireless devices), such as cell phones, some types personal digital assistants (PDAs), and some types of mobile computing devices have the capability for wireless delivery of documents for printing to an output device such as a printer, plotter, copier, fax machine, all in one device, or the like. Through some type of RF communication protocol a user may locate a device that can receive the document and execute the printing operation. The delivery of the document for printing may be done directly to a wireless enabled output device, to a personal computer coupled to a local output device or network output device, or to a server coupled to a network output device, where the document is stored on the wireless device. Alternatively, the document may be stored remotely from the wireless device and the wireless device is used to direct the remotely stored document to a device for printing.
Frequently, an initiator of the document printing desires that the document is printed on an output device having certain capabilities. Some of those capabilities may include, for example color printing, document stapling, high resolution printing, printing with ink, printing with toner, or printing on special media types. When initiating printing of the document, the user may select an output device, having the closest match to the desired capabilities, from several available types of output devices for printing of the document. However, determining the physical location of the selected output device, to which the document was directed for printing, to retrieve the document may be difficult. This may occur, for example, when the initiator is positioned out of the line of sight of the selected output device (as might be the case when the initiator is in a large building or multi-story building) or when printing of the document may have been completed on any one of a large number of nearby output devices. It would be helpful to easily locate the output device selected for printing the document.
A system to locate an output device includes a wireless device including a configuration to determine and display wireless device location information related to an area using a signal, to display area information, and to determine and display direction information to the output device, where the wireless device includes a configuration to receive and store the area information. The system also includes a storage device configured to store the area information and to send the area information to the wireless device.
A method for locating an output device in an area includes receiving area information, including a position of the output device, for the area using a wireless device. The method also includes receiving a position signal with the wireless device and determining wireless device position information related to the area using the position signal. In addition, the method includes determining direction information to the output device and displaying the area information on the wireless device. Furthermore, the method includes displaying the wireless device position information on the wireless device and displaying the direction information on the wireless device.
A system to locate an output device includes a wireless device including a configuration to display output device information used to locate the output device selected for a printing operation, where the wireless device includes a configuration to receive and store the output device information. The system also includes a storage device configured to store the output device information and to send the output device information to the wireless device.
A method for locating an output device includes receiving output device information used to locate the output device selected for a printing operation from a storage device, using a wireless device. In addition, the method includes displaying the output device information for the output device selected for the printing operation on the wireless device.